The week that was the 9th March

Afternoon all,

So, folks. As today marks the one year Anniversary of the first lockdown, who would have thought that many of us would still be WFH ! ( ☹ ) …. And all after having completed 119 days of home schooling , a year of socialising with friends and loved ones via Zoom and Houseparty and with terminology and phrases such as, “ flattening the curve”, and “ you are still on mute mate! ” being part of our “ new normal ’’ everyday lexicon !

But also in that time who knew that we would go on to have successfully developed and started implementing not just one , but a whole plethora of proven, efficient vaccines too ! See above for one of the latest vaccine related headlines! ( …. The pitiful EU and the brazen BBC both continue to weaponise and politicise the vaccine ; no wonder a recent poll suggested that a Brexit existence is now up to a 60% approval rating - oops I’m doing now ! I’ll swiftly stop there …. )

And for those of us who are Line of Duty fans we had some other welcome respite on Sunday with the return of LOD Series 6 - even though we were all confused as to what the heck a CHIS was ; and as the clocks go forward this week we can also look forward to lighter evenings and better things to come. ( inc golf for no fewer than 21 of your ranks ! )

WEEK 11

Whether or not you have been WFH, zooming , or starting the day with a dose of Joe Wickes ( PECC’D UP SPENCER ? ) , you still managed to secure a more than sprightly £32,704,692 worth of lending across 114 cases in Week 11.

His side limped out of the F A Cup with a whimper , but Top of the charts was Paul Oglesby with £3,138,487 of lending across 4 cases, one of which also win’s him the “ Big time Bacchus ” Award for his £2,549,100 case with West One. In fact Paul’s recent lender selections make very insightful viewing and he’s clearly a ‘’ Go To ‘’ guy on anything featuring development / bridging / the quirky stuff?

Then this week’s runners up were Spencer Havers with £2,911,122 of lending across an astonishing 9 cases and fellow male-model & 007 candidate Mike Atkinson with £2,095,917 of lending across 4 cases. Indeed , both of these brokers appear set to unleash a Spring volley of cases in the weeks ahead ….

The following all did a case a day – please raise a glass to Sean McGeough, Alex Cast, Sarah Norman, Paul Varney, Zak Abdul-Karim, Jaime Lines, Ricki Wenn, Ajay Sharma and Michelle Barraclough. ( There were no fewer than 11 ‘ spursies ‘ amongst you last week who had a Thursday night to forget , and hopefully Leighann hasn’t been over-doing it with the OUT- OUT sledging to Mr Varney & friends ? )

Then on the lender side you completed the greatest number of cases in Week 11 jointly with Santander and Halifax , totalling £3,834, 766 and £4,474,274 of lending respectively.

Protection – Week 11

Things were moving on up again on the protection side of the business with 28 deals completed in Week 11 of which Kevin Gronow secured an exceptional 8 followed by Jo Zeff with 4.

The Gaffer visits Wales shortly and I know he’s really looking forward to meeting the dynamic new team down there in Swansea.

Kevin G also secured the highest policy amount this week with his £500,000 deal with Scottish Widows and on the provider side you completed the greatest number of deals with Zurich totalling 9.

Birthday’s and other Parish Notices

Many Happy returns to Collete Hall who got an early present from Accord and who celebrates her Birthday today and to Russell Davies who will be celebrating on Friday!

Management Notices ; v brief this week

1. Look out for the new Intranet which launches next week .

2. Barclays ; keep treading carefully around this lender ; Some of you seem to have a sweet spot there , but many don’t . Accord , Hali , and Natwest are scoring well elsewhere .

3. We have 3 more new joinees and we’ll showcase their mugshots in the coming weeks . Several of our peers appear to have tightened their packages and compliance protocols , not surprisingly in cases .

4. The upgraded London office ; a full note on this will follow shortly .

5. We will now begin to space out the internal Zoom calls as we know that zoom-fatigue will soon be setting in , if not there already ?! Plus , May broker meetings now look very possible / likely.

Best Wishes all , as we head towards an allegedly sunny Easter Bank Holiday.

Kevin